


Youth

by lapinprince



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 15:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11762820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lapinprince/pseuds/lapinprince
Summary: what if yusuke stayed? a collection of moments in leblanc, as yusuke learns, akira grows, and the two young boys blossom together.





	Youth

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i swear i can write more than just shuake and this is proof of it. this is inspired by a prompt given to me by my friend sam and so here we go! the story will start the day yusuke decides to stay overnight at leblanc and every chapter will explore the story through the moments in the attic between yusuke and akira (and also morgana)
> 
> this may (probably) will get bumped up to a mature eventually, will also include endgame spoilers, and it has no foreseeable end yet! if you have any suggestions for a chapter im very open to it! this chapter is also a prologue of sorts and most chapters will be longer than this, dont worry.
> 
> anyway, enough rambling from me. you can talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/princenocolo)!
> 
> -♔

Akira couldn’t prepare the grilled fish and miso soup for Yusuke.

He woke up with the sights of chains and concrete and deep blue still ghosting his vision. He rubbed his eyes to ground himself in the present, in his bed, the attic of Leblanc. 

“12:34…” Akira mumbled, checking his phone. Thankfully, it was a Sunday, but he still mentally swore for sleeping in so late. He rolled over to the edge of the bed to see that the sofa in the corner of his room was empty, the blanket nicely folded and resting on the cushion with the pillow sitting on top. _Did he leave?_ Akira wondered, but after a quick scan of his room he saw the suitcase still by his bookshelf. It seemed that Yusuke had woken up far earlier than him and, presumably, already went downstairs. 

“Ugh...” Akira mumbled, ruffling his already messy hair and sitting up in his bed carefully. Akira’s body always felt so heavy after a dream in the Velvet Room, his feet weighed down by an invisible something, so there was no hope of him rising any earlier. After a quick mental psyche up, he rolled out of bed, and padded down the stairs to join his friend, leaving Morgana still sleeping on the blankets.

“Good morning, Akira.” Yusuke was sitting, poised, at the counter with a cup of coffee in hand, a plate of half eaten curry in front of him. Sojiro turned back towards the kitchen and scooped up a plate of curry for Akira as well, setting the steaming plate on the counter. 

“You’re awake late,” Sojiro remarked. Giving a rather incoherent response, Akira climbed onto a stool and picked up his spoon. Before digging in, he glanced over to Yusuke in a vague effort to see how he was doing. His hair was finger combed perfectly into place, his face was serene without any sight of the heavy eye bags that plagued his face over the weeks past, his clothes weren’t rumpled as usual. He looked content, and that made Akira feel content. He hated to see his new friend under so much stress, but it was inevitable considering how the Phantom Thieves were targeting his mentor and father figure. That tension had melted from his shoulders, and that elegant boy they bumped into at the station had returned.

“You woke up early,” Akira commented as he dug into his curry. Yusuke laughed softly. 

“I just so happened to. Did I wake you as I came downstairs?” he asked. Akira shook his head, and a small smile spread on Yusuke’s face. “Ah, wonderful. I would loathe to disturb your sleep, you looked so peaceful.” 

Akira gave a small chuckle, still gradually waking up for the day. “So… are you staying here for long?” Akira asked, nodding gratefully at Sojiro when he placed a cup of coffee in front of him as well. Yusuke practically beamed at Akira, and he turned in his seat to fully face him as he spoke.

“Yes, I was speaking with Sojiro-san just before you woke. I have decided that it would be detrimental to go back to the dorms, where I would be by myself… that would not be the way to approach any sort of healing from what happened with Madarame.” A flash of sorrow crossed Yusuke’s face as he thought more deeply of his true options. Akira wondered if there was more than just Yusuke not wanting to be by himself, but he supposed he would find out. Yusuke took a breath and continued. “He said that it would be fine, as long as I help out downstairs every now and then like you do.” 

Sojiro coughed, interrupting the two of them. “So, I’ll bring over a futon from my house later tonight. Can’t imagine that dingy sofa is any comfortable. Do you got enough room for everything else?” Yusuke nodded as Akira tried to picture his room in his head.

“Yes. I would still use the studios at school for my art for the most part, but sometimes I would need to work at home… however, I have adequate space for that, and all of my supplies,” he said, picking up the cup of coffee again and taking a sip. “I would need to bring more things over from the shack, of course, but I do not believe it would take up much space as a whole.” 

Akira smiled. It would be some work having Yusuke move in fully, but he felt as if it would be worth the trouble. He liked Yusuke so far, and though they haven’t been friends long, he had a good feeling about having him around as a close confidant, in addition to Morgana. 

“Alright. I’ve got some errands to do, then I gotta bring the futon over, so you two watch the cafe until I’m back, okay?” Sojiro said, slipping out from behind the counter. Akira finished off his curry and took his apron from the hook, passing the spare apron to Yusuke. The two boys looked sharp in their cafe attire as they cleaned up, as Yusuke watched Akira carefully as he poured hot water over the coffee grounds in the siphon. Hours later, Sojiro arrived with a rolled up futon tucked under one arm and he hefted it upstairs and laid it out in the centre of the floor. 

“I’m off, then. See you tomorrow,” he said, leaving the cafe. 

Akira felt so strangely content. The two decided to take a nice bath, and as they soaked Akira couldn’t help but notice how sharp but gentle the angles of Yusuke’s jaw and shoulders were. He was too distracted to notice that Yusuke was watching Akira the same way. 

After a loaned pair of Akira’s pajamas, the two boys curled up in their beds, Morgana deciding to sleep with Yusuke for tonight.

“Goodnight, Akira,” Yusuke said softly.

“Goodnight,” Akira replied, closing his eyes.

The two slept soundly, without any nightmare nor a dream. 

Akira mentally promised to make that grilled fish and miso soup the next morning.

**Author's Note:**

> _shadows settle on the place, that you left  
>  our minds are troubled by the emptiness_


End file.
